Energy Upgrade cost savings program

After spending part of Monday afternoon at the announcement kick-off of Sarasota County Energy Upgrade program a timely article from EERE. There's a demand to retrofit homes with the relatively easy upgrades which gives the fastest returns and the potential for employment, equals jobs, in this category.
I went through the check off list and we've implemented 99% of the recommendations already. Apart for the A/C and some windows that had to be replaced anyway I think I would have paid for it all within 2 - 3 years in savings. Once again our electric bill was $79 for last month!

Apparently FPL is going to offer a Smart Meter next year? Its part of the educational process, we did the private offering with the emonitor with DwellGreen, saved us a bundle.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will present a webinar every Tuesday in October, starting at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). This series of webinars will provide information on the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals project, with an emphasis on how the project pertains to organizations and professionals in the manufactured housing industry.
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Clean Energy Jobs

As soon as we tell friends and neighbors about our monthly energy cost, 9 out of 10 want to know how we achieved that level of August $79 with A/C, approx 2,000 sq ft under air. It's very achievable; easy DiY or room for new Practitioners as long as the costs are reasonable.

The Department of Energy announces a New Energy Milestone...

One day before Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman highlights the clean energy jobs created with support from the Obama Administration, the Energy Department announced that the weatherization program under the Recovery Act has now made more than 500,000 low-income homes nationwide more energy-efficient. The weatherization program is helping families save hundreds of dollars a year on their energy bills, while employing more than 14,000 workers across the country and countless others throughout the supply chain.
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Who says Smart Meters don't work?

Despite the Florida heat and humidity we received our latest power bill from FPL (Florida Power and Light) our Energy usage dropped once again, I was hoping it might get to in the $70's range and we did! It was actually $79 not bad for 2,000 sq ft under air and considering we had guests in during August ramping up the usage too. I was continually shutting outside doors left open and they probably thought I was miserly or nuts!
Oh I also forgot we work a considerable amount from our Home Office too.

Learning from our eMonitor Smart Meter where our Phantom Power loss was coming from, we kept fine-tuning our energy bleed as I call it, "a lot of crumbs can make a nice size piece of cake" and here's the proof. We weren't being overly frugal either, just using commonsense and its within easy reach of almost anyone with the will to save some money and help the environment at the same time. In these economic times whats not to like? For those who are inclined towards Energy Efficiency, Sustainability or just plain being Green just look at the carbon footprint...


Next on the agenda as we work towards the dry season is more Water Conservation. We've tested out a rain barrel system that we created with a Rain Chain for aesthetics and this season we'll up the ante despite being on a Recycled Water system which magically keeps going up in cost every year... it use to be FREE. Being right beside a lake no water catchment system is needed, but pumps use a fair bit of energy and there will be a fair bit of elbow grease, we'll see...

Carbon Footprint 1/3 of the average Florida Home

Let alone the saved energy and cost, our home Carbon Footprint is now almost a 1/3 of the average Florida home.

The recent savings hands-down goes to our "emonitor". It's  ability to inform us how to optimize and make adjustments to our energy usage, then with a little tweaking get some pretty darn good results.
Another factor worth consideration is that when we are ready to go to PV (solar panels) or the thin film variety our overall Square Footage requirement will be considerably lower... hence less cost. Bonus!

For some feedback our home is just under 2,000 sq ft of air conditioned space with a Great Room, lots of sliders and a 19.2 SEER dual scroll A/C (which I highly recommend) with a heat exchanger to capture a fair bit of the heat and put it into our Hot Water. We don't have a Solar Hot Water Heater.

Department of Energy Joins with Manufacturers, Environmentalists to Announce New Efficiency Standards for Home Refrigerators

Good timing... after reviewing my latest report card off my "e monitor" our Energy Star Fridge is now the second highest user of power and I've just cleaned the coils! Which by-the-way cleaning them does make a difference. The coils are far better off not being wrapped in a fur blanket.
I also made a modification to the main intake of air utilizing reusable air filter material (it doesn't restrict the air flow) just as an experiment to see if kept the coils any cleaner, we'll see..

The article...

August 26, 2011

Today, the Department of Energy issued final energy efficiency standards for home refrigerators and freezers that will improve their efficiency by about 25% by 2014. These new standards, developed through a consensus process with manufacturers, consumer groups, and environmentalists, are expected to deliver more than $200 in electricity bill savings for the typical consumer over the lifetime of the refrigerator. Nationally, consumers are expected to save more than $21 billion on their energy bills through 2043 as a result of the standards announced today.
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Department of Energy Considers New Venue for Solar Decathlon 2013

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department of Energy is considering offers for a new site for Solar Decathlon 2013. The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a competition that challenges collegiate students from across the globe to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are affordable, highly energy efficient, attractive, and easy to live in. For the first time, in an effort to expand the excitement generated by the competition and encourage participation from new communities, the Department is inviting venues across the nation to compete for the opportunity to host this award-winning event. The Solar Decathlon has attracted thousands of people to experience first-hand the benefits of homes that incorporate clean energy technologies, and, as a collegiate competition, supports the Obama Administration’s comprehensive efforts to build a 21st century clean energy economy by helping to train the next-generation of American engineers and architects.
"The Solar Decathlon challenges the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to become pioneers of clean energy technology and efficient building design," said Secretary Chu. "This is a great opportunity for these talented students to showcase cutting edge technologies that will change the way we build homes and save families money."
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Smart Grid

Article By Jonathan Mariano Via Triple Pundit 

The smart grid is getting more and more attention these days.  With all this talk, a few questions lingers in the mind.  What exactly is the smart grid?  When will we actually get the smart grid in place?  How smart can the grid really be?

Recently, Southern California Edison (SCE) held a smart grid roundtable event at the company’s Energy Education Center in Irwindale, CA.  The center itself is like the Universal Studios of energy efficiency, displaying and demonstrating many of the energy innovations in place now or yet to come.

The company demoed the efficiency of various types of lighting, including CFL and LED.  They showcased tube lighting and “light shelves,” which use the power of the sunlight to light rooms instead of electricity. We even got a sneak peak at a smart meter connected to a smart home.  (By the way, for the energy efficiency nerd in you, the Energy Education Center is open to the public for your enjoyment and education.)

What is the Smart Grid?
According to SCE, the smart grid is “an increasingly intelligent and highly automated electric power system that utilizes technology advancements in telecommunications, information, computing, sensing, controls, materials, in addition to other grid technologies.”  The following video touches on what the smart grid is all about:

In essence, the smart grid is “aware.”  Let’s say there is a power spike during peak usage.  Instead of taking out an entire neighborhood, the smart grid can isolate and reroute energy.  Or in the case of an outage, instead of SCE crews going pole to pole to find the culprit, the smart grid will be able to narrow down the trouble location.

The grid is not the only thing that makes the smart grid smart.  Smart meters connect to our homes.  No longer will we have to wait for our monthly bill to know how much power we are using.  Our usage will be available almost instantaneously.  You will be able to use an SCE website to track your day to day, if not moment to moment, energy usage.

When will we get the Smart Grid?
I have some good news and some bad news.  The good news is that the smart grid is coming.  The bad news is that the smartifcation of the grid is going to take some time.  As Doug Kim, Director of Smart Grid Technology at SCE suggests, “We have a twenty year journey.”  There are countless legacy systems needing upgrades and millions of customers using needing retrofits.

Figure 1 below shows an example of the, California Smart Grid Policy Timeline.

Figure 1: California Smart Grid Policy Timeline

Also, like any new technology, the smart grid also needs to be tested to ensure that it actually works as desired.  One such pilot project is SCE $80 million, Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration. “We are currently gathering baseline data for the Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration (ISGD) project, as well as acquiring and designing the systems to be installed in the future. We anticipate that our project-wide go live date will be in 2013,” says Kim.  Some of the goals and objectives of this project include:

•    Verification of the viability of various Smart Grid technology deployed in an integrated manner
•    Quantification of Smart Grid costs and benefits
•    Test and validate the scalability of several Smart Grid elements
•    Demonstrate Zero Net Energy home functionality.

The Smart Customer
At the end of the day, even with the smart grid and the smart meter, it all comes down to the smart customer.  SCE can connect the customer to electricity.  It can even track and record your energy usage.  But it is up to us to use that data in making smarter decisions in using electricity.  The smarter the customer, the smarter the grid.

DOE and ASHRAE Sign Agreement to Improve Building Energy Standards

The U.S. Department of Energy and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) today announced a new agreement to develop achievable and cost effective standards, jointly promote educational programs, and support one another's products and services. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) underscores the commitment between DOE and ASHRAE to improve building energy standards that reduce energy costs and carbon pollution nationwide. These concerted efforts help home and business owners save money on their annual utility bills, enhance our nation's energy security by reducing fossil fuel use, and strengthen America's position as a leader in energy-efficient building construction.
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Department of Energy to Award Over $6 Million for Clean Energy Projects on Tribal Lands

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced 31 tribal energy projects to receive $6.3 million over two years as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's ongoing efforts to support tribal energy development and continue strengthening the partnership with Tribal Nations. These competitively selected projects will allow Native American Tribes to advance clean energy within their communities by developing strategic energy plans, expanding the skills and knowledge of tribal members, and improving the energy efficiency of their buildings. These investments will help tribal communities to save money and reduce energy waste, expand the use of clean energy technologies, and promote economic development.
"Tribal Nations are well-positioned to take advantage of the benefits of clean energy and energy efficient technologies," said Secretary Chu. "Projects such as these will save energy and money, create long-term clean energy jobs, and spur economic development in tribal communities nationwide."
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Annual Market Reports for Wind Energy, Advanced Vehicles, and Fuel Cell Technology

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released three 2010 market reports which detail the market conditions and trends for wind energy, advanced vehicles, and fuel cell technologies. Taken together, these three market reports illustrate growth in deployment and manufacturing across all three technologies—improving the nation’s global competitiveness in the clean energy economy and creating clean tech jobs for U.S. workers.
The 2010 Wind Technologies Market Report , produced by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, analyzes trends in wind power capacity, manufacturing, performance, and costs. The results indicate that wind energy installations comprised 25% of new U.S. electricity capacity additions in 2010, representing $11 billion in new investments and enough new capacity to power roughly 1.3 million homes. The report also notes that U.S. manufacturing of wind turbine components continues to increase, with domestically produced goods used in U.S. wind power projects reaching approximately 68% in 2009-2010, up from 52% in 2005-2006. Another key finding from the report is a 33% decline in wind turbine prices since 2008. The report predicts that current turbine prices and improved turbine performance will drive the cost of wind energy down further in the coming years.
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Tidal Energy. New Interactive Map Reveals US Tidal Energy Resources

Tidal energy—one of the fastest growing emerging technologies in the renewable sector—holds great promise for clean energy generation. And now, a first of its kind database gives researchers deeper insight into the potential of this vast energy resource for the United States.
The online database, developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) with the help of a $469,500 award from the U.S. Department of Energy, maps the energy available in the nation’s tidal streams. Researchers at Georgia Tech’s Savannah campus used the Regional Ocean Model to simulate tidal flows along the entire U.S. coastline, which is marked by thousands of streams, rivers and bays subject to daily tides. DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory validated the model’s accuracy and the resulting data are now publically available.
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ISO 50001 a new global energy efficiency and energy management standard

The Department of Energy (DOE) today recognized the publication of ISO 50001, a new global energy efficiency and energy management standard which will help organizations worldwide save money in their buildings and industrial facilities. The new international standard will pave the way for long term energy savings and serve as a critical tool for the implementation of the Department’s energy efficiency programs. This voluntary standard, developed by a project committee of 45 partnering countries from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), provides organizations with a framework for continuous energy performance improvements. The framework will encourage adoption of best practices that reduce the energy use of existing equipment and facilities, require the use of energy performance data to target cost-effective upgrades, and emphasize the design and installation of highly efficient energy systems and equipment. By increasing their operational efficiency, organizations that adopt the ISO 50001 standard will save money by saving energy.
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